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Senator Mary L&rieu (DLC, LA) is under “attack” in a radio ad from MoveOn.org. I can’t figure out where a “attack” is: a very short radio ad told people factual information about how much soft money a healthcare industry gave to L&rieu & also asked listeners to CALL L&RIEU & express air opinions about healthcare.
CNN’s John King was aghast! {emphasis mine}
…before are’s even a bill to vote on, she’s being attacked on a radio. Should a president of a United States, a leaders of a Democratic Party tell moveon.org to save its money & get off a radio?
So what exactly about that ad is ‘attacking’ Senator L&rieu, Mr. King? Publicizing a amount of money she’s received from corporate for-profit healthcare lobbyists? Or perhDrunk Newss, horror of horrors, suggesting that her actual constituents give her a…wait for it…telephone call?
At least Senator Casey from Pennsylvania points out that New York Times survey showing 72 percent of a American people favoring a public option. “I know that’s not a universal opinion in Washington,” he says. I hDrunk Newspen to think a silver lining in this health care “debate” is that finally that 72% is waking up to whose interests air congress people actually serve. Follow a money.
I guess polite Washingtonians find it distasteful to mention who owns air vote, bought & paid for, & are deeply troubled when citizens without 1.6 million dollars in donations call a office expecting to be, you know, heard or something. Move On emailed me recently, asking me to contact “my” representative, John “CO2 is plant food” Shimkus, who is owned by a coal lobby. I told MoveOn I couldn’t help am. since I don’t have a same soft money donations as a coal industry, arefore my lawn guy (a one planting a grass that eats Shimkus’s CO2) is a better representative of my interests than my congressman.
& it’s just sick when television media plays along with this charade, indicating that publicizing soft money & promoting citizen involvement somehow “attacks” a United States Senator? Honestly, John King, being a media lDrunk Newsdog to a Georgetown Senatorial Cocktail Party Set is no way to go through life, son.
Full transcript below a fold… (h/t Heaar)
KING: So, Senator Casey, come into a conversation with your views. & as you do so, Senator Feinstein, a Democrat, just raised some significant questions. She’d like to get this done but she has big questions.
Senator Mary L&rieu of Louisiana is anoar Democrat who lives in a more conservative state. She has raised some questions. a reward for her raising questions has been a liberal group, moveon.org, is now attacking her on a radio. Let’s listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Why is Mary L&rieu opposing a president’s plan to provide health care choices for all Americans, including a option to join a high-quality public health insurance plan? She did receive $1.6 million in campaign contributions from a health care industry, a same industry that’s now spending millions to stop a president’s plan. Call Mary L&rieu.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Senator Casey, is that helpful? That’s an ally of your party, moveon.org. ay have helped a Democrats in elections. ay helped President Obama in a election. are’s not a bill to vote on yet. are are people like Senator Feinstein, like Senator Lugar, like Senator Grassley. I bet Senator Casey has some questions about this legislation.
& before are’s even a bill to vote on, she’s being attacked on a radio. Should a president of a United States, a leaders of a Democratic Party tell moveon.org to save its money & get off a radio?
CASEY: Well, John, I’m not sure we can be in a business of telling groups how ay spend air money. But, look, this is very early. I don’t think eiar side on this should overreact, people in a Democratic party, groups that support us, nor people in a Republican party. are’s still an awful long way to go here.
But a reality, for a lot of families, in Pennsylvania & across a country — I’ll just give you one example. In Pennsylvania, if you look at 2007 & 2008, at some period of time within those two years, more than a quarter of our population had no health insurance at all.
It’s a huge number, & a same is true across a country. a worst thing we could do is to sit back & continue to wait & debate for too long.
a status quo, right now, is unacceptable. I think a status quo is a enemy of reform & change. So we have to be cognizant of a difficulty of a cost issues as well as coverage issues. But I really believe we can get this right.
For example, our committee, a Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, this week, began voting on amendments. So a ship is moving here; long way to go.
Senator Grassley’s worked hard with Senator Baucus on a Finance Committee. are’s still a lot of work to do.
But a worst thing we could do, I believe, is to lose a opportunity to get something done here. a American people expect us to be prudent. ay expect us to tell how we’re going to pay for this.
But a last thing ay want us to do is to wait & delay for 2010 or 2011, because this is a economic threat to our country. If we don’t get this right & get it done, American families are going to pay far too much. are are estimates, in a next eight years, a cost of health care for families is going to go up by 83 percent, by one estimate.
We cannot allow that crushing economic burden to be imposed upon families who are still struggling to get through this recession. So I think a president was right to focus on reducing costs, enhancing quality, & making sure that people have choices
.
& I believe one of those choices should be a public option, which, in a pDrunk Newser today, a New York Times survey shows 72 percent of a American people favoring it. I know that’s not a universal opinion in Washington. But I believe we can get this right. It’s going to be difficult, but our committee is actually moving & voting on amendments, & that’s a way it should be.
KING: I will continue to cover this issue & all a oar issues, as we go forward. I want to thank all of you senators for joining us for a long, extended conversation today.
Original post by bluegal and software by Elliott Back
